Japanese R&D brings 3D technology closer to home

October 2nd, 2009 by Jason Jenkins

While most people look to Hollywood films and childrens’ features for the latest in 3D technology (selections from James Cameron’s “Avatar” will be premiered at TIFF this month), much of the coming onslaught of multidimensional entertainment is emerging here in Japan, and far the multiplex.

If Sir Howard Stringer is correct, we’ll all be watching these sporting events on 3D TVs by next year. Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and every other major electronics producer either has or will have product ready by then, but a good place to look for the latest news will be at the CEATEC convention in Makuhari Messe next week, where many of the latest gear will be announced.

Perhaps the most significant application of 3D technology to affect our lives won’t come from entertainment but from the incorporation of haptic technology. Japanese scientists are now working on holograms that you can touch (or feel like you’re touching anyway), and everyone is talking about when our keyboards will be replaced with sci-fi e-Gloves that search and organize the Web more intuitively than our wireless mouse and track pad ever could. Yes, the future is here – you can almost reach out and give it a squeeze.

A Tokyo resident since 2001, Jason Jenkins likes working in, around and between the city’s creative forces. He is an avid fan of art, music, people-watching, Taiwanese high-mountain oolong tea and DJing for patient friends and captive audiences.